Remembering PRESTAGS

Bad Python

Bad Python ruined the PRESTAGS card so it has needed to be laminated.

Totally Awesome

Ah yes, I see it. The game library includes 5 PRESTAGS games. There are 2 of Chariot, and only Yeoman is missing.

Someone must have bought the last Yeoman on ebay.

Why am I angry? - Is Toxoplasma gondii - things to me?

So there is an article in today's Australian and on New Scientist

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2082105-explosive-road-rage-like-anger-linked-to-parasite-spread-by-cats/

I learned about this parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, at uni. It's life cycle is in the guts of cats (or other predators I guess) and the brains of prey (mice). Guess what? People get it too - in the brain.

It was well known that mice infected with it were risk takers, and the evolutionary explanation is that it makes them more likely to get predated.
So this is interesting research. I wonder if I have T. gondii sitting in my amygdala (bottom reptilian fight/flight brain)?

I have lived with cats on and off for many years, including cleaning up their messes.

Maybe I am the mouse that roars? Or am I just a viking trapped in the 21st century?

 

The sometime beserker in Eric the Viking

T. gondii life cycle

cyst full of T. gondii - who needs science fiction?

Brain scan - not mine, but is it the same?

 

PRESTAGS Article

I have found a nice pdf article about the PRESTAGS games, with a focus on the different units. The article is titled "Ancient and Medieval Armies" by Jerrold Thomas and it is a scan of a Moves Magazine article.

The link is:

http://www.spigames.net/MovesScans/Prestags_Article.pdf

There are also some nice maps showing unit types and map movement. One example is the battle of Arbela:

Another example is the Battle of Casilinium:

Finarvyn, Merctime, kesher, Otto Harkaman & derv Discuss PRESTAGS

My compliments to Finarvyn, Merctime, kesher, Otto Harkaman and derv!

Who are these persons? They are a D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) discussion group that held a discussion about PRESTAGS in the period 27 May 2015 to 3 June 2015. Yes, PRESTAGS lives and is appreciated by other wargamers in addition to our good selves.

I include both the link to the D&D PRESTAGS discussion on the internet in addition to a colour pdf that I have made of this discussion and uploaded to this website so it is preserved for posterity: Download D&D PRESTAGS Discussion

The D&Ders have recalled how they used PRESTAGS to recreate fantasy battles, including mixing PRESTAGS counters with other counters from fantasy wargames in the 1970s. This is a sample from Finarvyn:

I was also pleased to hear about an army captain teaching university students how to play PRESTAGS as told by Otto Harkaman:

Otto writes that he now has "all of the PRESTAG rules which I've acquired in a sort of a quest like fashion" which reminds me of my own quest 35 years after the publication of PRESTAGS to complete my own collection by purchasing two missing games on ebay. I had Spartan, Legion and Viking from the 1970s, but I had to acquire my own copies of Chariot and Yeoman as I approached the age of 50. I think Python still needs Yeoman to complete his collection.

Needless to say I agree with many of the comments in this very interesting discussion, especially "we ought to have a thread about SPI's wonderful PRESTAGS wargame",  "As far as historical eras go, anything that can spawn from the dawn of time through the Middle Ages has to be awesome" and "there is a good sized cult following of the games". I'm not sure how large the cult actually is, but PRESTAGS certainly deserves a cult, it was a wonderful wargame and it still is awesome.

Well done chaps. PRESTAGS lives!

Are There Any Modern Day Spartans?

I have predicted a coming economic crash and harped on about this again and again. 

Nothing has happened to change my mind and I think the crash is closer than ever. All that is needed is an event to trigger an avalanche of debt defaults and derivative calls and the whole house of cards will come crashing down. Some commentators call these "black swan" events and they liken them to that last little snow flake that drops on a huge build up of snow, with the tiny extra weight causing a complete collapse.

One possible black swan event (or snowflake) is a Greek exit from the EU. I don't want an economic collapse which will mean trying to survive in Great Depression like conditions for possibly a decade, but I do despise the European Union. The whole EU monetary experiment that has made banks and not people the centre of economics, and has now created a massive debt based economic system and austerity for increasing numbers of European citizens. Somebody has to say enough is enough and perhaps it will be the Greeks.

Before I hear that the Greeks deserve everything they get because they lived beyond their means we should remember basic true capitalism.

If a bank makes bad loans it is the fault of the bank, and the borrower can be bankrupted but the bank's shareholders (who reap all the profits when the bank makes good loans) also lose out and the bank may even collapse. The losers are the two parties to the transaction. There is nothing wrong with this, and in fact it is healthy in a genuine competitive market.

Not so in the new world of the EU and bank-centric vulture capitalism. Now when a bank makes bad loans the borrower can be bankrupted but the bank is bailed out by government funds in the form of loans from central banks (either from the government of the country itself or in the EU often from other countries). This means the entire country which happened to have a bad bank operating is punished by interest on massive loans and austerity for its citizens. So the individual borrower is punished, the bank where ultimate responsibility lies is not punished, the citizens of the central bank in the lending country are punished (their taxes being socialism for banks) and the citizens of the recipient country (many of whom may be good savers and debt free) are punished. Completely unfair and in fact rewards bad lending practices.

I am constantly amazed that so many intelligent people can't see the flaws in this economic structure and that citizens of supposedly well educated and developed nations put up with it. I believe this is a sign of how all powerful banks have now become. In fact they are so powerful that they have achieved "bail-in" legislation in many nations, with the EU aiming to have this in all member countries within two months. This is no more and no less than blatant theft of depositor funds. 

Combined with the bail-ins will be greater and greater restrictions on cash, to force digital banking, which in turn will facilitate bail-ins (the first theft) plus facilitate negative interest rates (the second theft) plus facilitate whatever new and varied taxes (third theft) a bankrupt political-economic system can come up with. I suspect it will be some kind of levy based upon the climate agenda. The speed with which this is happening is frightening.

Over the last seven years since the 2008 financial crisis we have already seen big strides towards an almost exclusive digital financial system and the consolidation of nearly everybody's finances into a smaller and smaller number of mega banks. Even in Australia there are much fewer banks and credit societies. It is easier to slaughter pigs when they are in the same pen, and so it is easy to steal funds when everyone has been herded into a few institutions.

My contempt for the current economic structures is so strong that I want the Greeks (or some other nation) to do an Iceland and break away from the whole corrupt and unjust system. Iceland remember just let the banks fail in 2008 and actually jailed some of the bankers. There was a huge uproar (mostly from British banks that had invested in bad Icelandic banks) but now Iceland is thriving and is a genuine independent and happy nation. We had some modern day Vikings so how about some modern day Spartans!

The media of course never includes a proper discussion of the real economics or of the absurdity and injustice of  the Greek situation. You never hear that a "bail in" by the ECB or the IMF does not mean that money is going to the Greek people and their hospitals and schools, it just means that bad banks are being bailed out or other European banks that made bad loans to Greece are being bailed out.

There is a legal concept caused "odious debt". In international law, odious debt is a legal theory which holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation, should not be enforceable. Such debts are thus considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred them and not debts of the state. In some respects, the concept is analogous to the invalidity of contracts signed under coercion. Greece should declare much of its debt odious and simply refuse to pay. Also, jail some corrupt former politicians and advisers from merchant banks like Goldman Sachs for good measure.

While the media portrays Greece as a tiny little nation at the mercy of the EU, I read an interesting commentary this morning that perhaps Greece holds all the cards: 

"The underlying problem is that financial decisions at the ECB are being made for political reasons. Politicians are trying to pretend that the ECB can continue to create money out of thin air and keep giving Greece a liquidity lifeline. This misguided thinking has consequences, and reality is about to hit home, which raises an interesting question.

Which side is closer to reality? Greece or the so-called troika of the IMF, ECB and EU? I think Greece holds all the cards. 

Greece is still generating income from tax revenue, even in its weakened economic state. The problem Greece faces is that it cannot possibly meet its social spending commitments as well as carry its crippling debt burden. 

The lenders have refused to grant Greece any debt relief, which was the basic plank of Greece’s negotiating stance with the troika. The troika opposed debt relief because if they grant it to Greece, for the sake of European unity it will need to be granted to every other overleveraged welfare state, which is more than half of the countries in Europe.

Greece can go it alone. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. And it will be much easier to accomplish without the €320 billion debt burden hanging over its head. Greece can just walk away, like Greece and many other countries have repeatedly done throughout history. 

Greece wouldn’t be able to borrow again for a long while, but it probably shouldn’t anyway because it has learned its lesson – debt can be unmanageable.

There is one last point about Greece worth mentioning:  Greece is clearly preparing for a default. 

The Athens government has asked all cities and other governmental bodies to move their available cash into accounts at the central bank. This is being reported in the mainstream media as a way for the central government to get its hands on more cash, but that is not correct. 

It is to prevent the ECB from taking this cash of governmental bodies when the ECB finally bails-in the private Greek banks. In other words, in a bail-in the ECB takes the euros deposited in private banks, but not the euros deposited in the central bank. So by putting their euro deposits into the central bank, Greece’s governmental bodies can keep their money out of the hands of the ECB. It’s just more evidence that Greece – not the troika – holds all the cards." 

The EU has grown into more than a corrupt economic system. It is also an ever growing inefficient bureaucracy, a meddling nannie state, a gigantic social engineer, a vehicle for United States foreign policy against the genuine interests of Europe, and above all a vehicle for a perpetual war against Christianity in Europe. The collapse of the EU can't come quick enough for me.

Safe Travels

Paul wishes very safe travels to Python, Mrs Python and Python Jnr.

 

Don't forget the Rules of Adventure.

Moves, Nostalgia and Strategy I

The Python always shares his excitement when a new Strategy & Tactics magazine arrives. Now that I have subscribed my own excitement will be up to the same levels as the Python.

However, I didn't want to wait two months so I ordered a Moves magazine on eBay. Massive excitement today as my Moves magazine arrived.

This is no ordinary magazine, this is issue number 26 published in April/May 1976. Almost 40 years old and in excellent condition. All the nostalgia from the mid 1970s and SPI's glory days came flooding back to me, and this will keep me pumped for at least a week. There is a very interesting article titled "Field Report: SPI's Friday-Night Follies" by Phil Kosnett which provides a glimpse into SPI's Friday night play testing and the various personalities involved. I've made a pdf copy of this article for the Python: Download SPI's Friday-Night Follies.

I love the SPI Order Form in the middle of the magazine, which includes the five PRESTAGS games and they were only $8 each.

I notice the game "Strategy I: Strategic Warefare, 350BC to 1984" which is described as "Perhaps the most extensive simulation every produced, it covers all the aspects of warfare in seventeen scenarios from Alexander the Great to the potential nuclear holocaust". Did we ever come across this game? It sounds like it has great late-night and red-wine gaming potential.

I have looked up Strategy I on boardgamegeek and it is a very early game, 1971, designed by Jim Dunnigan, Stephen Patrick, Redmond Simonsen and our own John Young. It is for 2 to 8 players with 4 players recommended. We should track down this game!

John Michael Young

The Python, ever the determined researcher, has gone back to the early Strategy & Tactics magazines and found John Young's death notice (S&T 69), and an interesting reference to John in Notes From Underground (S&T 66). I reproduce these:

I share at least three things with John Young: a degree in history, experience with water pistol fights, and a love of wargames (especially ancient era ones). Thanks again Python for finding these references.

SPI Ancient Units

I have come across a pdf document on the internet called "SPI Icon Library". I attach the document  Download SPI_Icon_Library here.

What is particularly interesting is that all of the PRESTAGS units are included, plus others from ancient era games. I recognize units from Conquistador. I can't think what game the Loch Ness Monster was in! There are lots of extra cool cavalry units that the Python will love.

A Very Sad Discovery

When this Blog first commenced it recognized the brilliance of John Michael Young, the designer of PRESTAGS.

I never knew until today that John Young (born 2 September 1947) died in May 1978, aged only 30. This was only three years after PRESTAGS was published. I will have a Mass offered for him.

Below are two photographs from early SPI days. In the first photo, John Young is standing next to Redmond Simonsen and his face in hidden. In the second photo, John is sitting down and having a smoke while playing a wargame.

John Young was employed as SPI's accountant and he designed games in his 'spare time'. I read in boardgamegeek that he was assigned to pre 19th century wargame design although he also seems to have designed one American Civil War game and a World War I game.

The games for which he was the primary designer include at least the following:

1. Chariot
2. Spartan
3. Legion
4. Viking
5. Yeoman
6. Borodino
7. Austerlitz
8. The Fall of Rome
9. The Marne
10. Lee Moves North
11. Musket and Pike
12. Rifle and Saber

I pray that John Young is at the great wargame convention in the sky, enjoying a game.

A Boys Weekend Lottery Ticket

To celebrate the fact that it is only one week until the Boys Weekend, I have decided to purchase a Boys Weekend lottery ticket. This is strictly on me, my treat, but any winnings will be shared in equal thirds with the Python and ThygoCanberra.

I wanted something special, so I chose the US MegaMillions lottery which has a current jackpot of US $87 million. I'm going for 5 games (because there are five PRESTAGS wargames) running for five draws on 2 August, 6 August, 9 August, 13 August and 16 August (Australian time). This covers the Boys Weekend and the days around it.

The MegaMillions has ridiculous odds of 1 in 259,000,000 to win the jackpot, and involves selecting five main numbers (from 1-75) and a Mega or Power Ball (from 1-15) for each game. Even with a total of 25 games the odds are still an insane 1 in 10,360,000. There is more chance of being struck by lightning, or of Thygo being abducted by aliens during the Boys Weekend, than winning this jackpot.

Having chosen the lottery, my next  task was to choose the numbers. Of course, these numbers needed to be related in some way to PRESTAGS, so I gave it my best shot.

Game #1 is the Chariot numbers. PRESTAGS was published in 1975, and Chariot is the first of the five games, so 19 and 75 were obvious choices. I then got some iconic Chariot game units, and derived 4 from the movement allowance of the class 6 leader (only Chariot has class 6 leaders), 22 from the fire strength and range allowance of the bowman, 33 from the melee strength and movement allowance of militia spearmen, and a powerball number of 9 being the unique movement allowance of the chariot unit. The number 22 is also of PRESTAGS fame thanks to the adventures of MI 22.

Game #2 is the Spartan numbers. The cover of Spartan carries the subtitle "The time is: Summer 202 BC". This provides 20 and 2. Looking at some iconic Spartan game units, we derive 37 from fire strength and range allowance of the ballista, 43 from the melee strength and movement allowance of professional spearmen, and then 64 from the melee strength and movement allowance of the big boys, the professional pikemen. Last but not least is a nice powerball 6 from the movement allowance of elephants.

Game #3 is the Legion numbers. The cover of Legion also has a subtitle: "The time is: December 50 BC". This is great, a 12 and especially a 50. The 50 is a must for the PRESTAGS rantings of the over 50 year old wargamers. Turning to some iconic Legion game units we have a 39 from the melee strength and movement allowance of Byzantine cataphracts, a 44 from the melee strength and movement allowance of the classic swordsmen, and a 65 from the melee strength and movement allowance of barbarian infantry. To give Python another cavalry unit, we derive a powerball 2 from the melee strength of oriental cavalry.

Game #4 is the Viking numbers. Vikings means Thygo and something distinctive is required. The Viking game includes special rules [3.6] for viking ferocity, and the first viking attack odds can be accelerated up to 6-1. This gives a 36 and a 61. The iconic Viking game units include third class leaders with a movement allowance of 9, the crossbowmen with a fire strength of 2 and a range allowance of 3 producing 23, and the axemen with a melee strength of 3 and a movement allowance of 4 producing 34. For the powerball number we can't go past the viking ship with its lengthy unique movement allowance of 15.

Game #5 is the Yeoman numbers. The cover of Yeoman has a very precise subtitle: "The time is: Morning 24 June 1314". Perfect. A 24 (which is also the fire strength and range allowance of the late arquebusiers) and a 13. To these numbers Yeoman can add a 30 from the combat bonus and movement control radius of a 4th class leader, a 47 from the melee strength and movement allowance of heavy cavalry, and a 73 from the huge range allowance and fire strength (using this order) of the heavy artillery. And what about the last powerball? I like the simple 4, the range allowance of the unique Yeoman late arquebusiers. Plenty of gunpowder in Yeoman: hopefully enough to blow the MegaMillions towards PRESTAGS!

There we have it, the unique PRESTAGS lottery numbers. Having selected these deeply meaningful numbers, yesterday I proceeded to purchase the 5 games x 5 draws. After a wait in Australia (mostly while I slept) a trusty agent in the United States purchased a MegaMillions ticket with the PRESTAGS numbers, and sent me a scanned copy. This is for the first draw, the following draws will be the same:

Win or lose, the PRESTAGS numbers have now been used, and PRESTAGS boys are happy. Good luck for the Boys Weekend.

The Evil Minoans

The Python has alleged a "warming trend" based on some selective data over the last 22 years. If there is global warming over the last 22 years, what is he comparing these 22 years with? Actually, he is comparing them with nothing, just the 22 year sample.

How can you get a planet wide apocalyptic trend from 22 years? You can't. Let us leave aside Python's selective data and love for erroneous computer models, and look at some real science.

There is a real science called paleoclimatology, where past temperatures and other climate information is determined from analysis of ice core samples. The benefit of this kind of analysis is that you can go back hundreds of thousands of years and study some real samples, not a pathetic 22 years. You can also look at human civilisation to test the 'man made' allegation.

As ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper, and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years. The properties of the ice and the  inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record over the age range of the core, normally through isotopic analysis. This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition.

Inclusions in the snow of each year remain in the ice, such as wind-blown dust, ash, pollen, bubbles of atmospheric gas and radioactive substances. The variety of climatic proxies is greater than in any other natural recorder of climate, such as tree rings or sediment layers. These include (proxies for) temperature, ocean volume, precipitation, chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere, volcanic eruptions, solar variability, sea-surface productivity, desert extent and forest fires.

An ice core from the right site can be used to reconstruct an uninterrupted and detailed climate record extending over hundreds of thousands of years, providing information on a wide variety of aspects of climate at each point in time. It is the simultaneity of these properties recorded in the ice that makes ice cores such a powerful tool in paleoclimate research.

Ice cores from Greenland enable a sample going back 400,000 years. From this, a sub sample of 11,000 years can be used to track human civilisation. You know, those nasty humans that cause planet wide warming with all their evil factories and farting cattle. What does 11,000 years show?

What?! A Dark Ages Cooling, a Medieval Warming, a Minoan Warming, an Egyptian Cooling. Those evil minoans and their obsession with bulls. They must have created a civilisation of farting cows.

And those good old boys in the Dark Ages. We need to cure global warming by recreating a feudal economic system. Now I see why the global warming alarmists want new taxes for everyone except the rich and powerful. They can become the lords and the rest of us can be taxed back into serfs and peasants. But we will all be lovely and cool.

 

WE HAVE BEEN GOING ONE YEAR!

A huge thank you to the Python and Thygo, and all the other contributors. May this mad blog prosper for another year.

The Stats:

468 Total posts

992 Total Comments

34.33 Page Views per Day

12,531 Lifetime Page Views

 

Thygo's Bold New Strategy

I must say I am impressed by Thygo's new and aggressive strategy. It is about time he stopped dancing around and really got stuck in.

I am also impressed by his new website and the declaration he has made to the Python and I:

 

Ethelred's Website and Declaration

 

Let the battle begin!!

PRESTAGS Art

MI22 wants to see more PRESTAGS art.

MI22 has a prize of a $100 gift voucher for Noble Knight Games for whoever produces the best PRESTAGS art in the next 6 months. Children's entries get bonus points.

MI22 explores the creative side of his militia personality with two entries of his own:

"Vikings in a Spruce Tree"

 

Art Critic Says: "A deep work that captures the sense of a viking camouflage after a secret landing. The quiet before the storm. A profound three dimensional snapshot of Scandinavia".

 

 

"Legion on the Move"

 

Art Critic Says: "A masterpiece of movement and determination. The Ford candlewagon recalls the Roman legions' long marches across the roads of the empire".

He Strode as a Giant Among the Geeks: OSDC 2013

I always intended to report upon the OSDC in Auckland. Thygocanberra has requested that I report upon: “how did NZ trip go? victories? triumphs? feasts? spoils?”. There were indeed all of these things, and more.

AWESOMENESS

I have already posted as to the awesomeness of travelling to New Zealand on the Air NZ "Hobbit" plane. We saw some unusual aircraft on our journey, but nothing came close to the Hobbit plane which boldly proclaimed itself "The Airline of Middle Earth".

TRIUMPHS

The conference itself was well organized and a success. For a lawyer attending a hard core geeks convention I found it surprisingly enjoyable and genuinely interesting.

The triumph was PythonMagus, who strode through the conference as a giant among geeks. The Python's talk "Creating Masterpieces with Raphael" was the highlight of the whole conference, and I got a massive buzz seeing PRESTAGS Moderni Agone on the big screen. We met an intense young developer who told us after the talk that he has been working on a computer game for three and a half years. The Python completed MA in three months. Even in the small photograph on the below left one can recognise PRESTAGS Moderni Agone.

After his talk the Python was able to relax a bit, however he still maintained 'the stance'. That is the stance of triumph, which has not been seen since the cover picture for PRESTAGS Viking in 1975. The Python was also able to enter 'The Great Room', where only the great dare to venture.

FEASTS

Were there feasts? Yes, too many feasts! The formal dinner for the OSDC was held at Eden Park on the first evening of the conference. Eden Park is the most sacred place in New Zealand, and Aussies usually leave Eden Park on a stretcher, so it was a privilege to enter and survive this place. Dinner at Eden Park was great (it is hard to go wrong with a self-serve all-you-can-eat top restaurant quality smorgasbord) and the real treat was Yorkshire Pudding which I have not had in ages. I remember this pudding at the Python's wedding: is this correct?

The conference was held at the Langham Hotel in Auckland. I have stayed in quite a lot of 5 star hotels around the world and I can honestly say the Langham beat them all. I normally travel for business, and without family or friends, so perhaps I was particularly well disposed to the Langham because the circumstances were more fun. All of the food at the Langham was top notch. The morning and afternoon teas came with a huge variety of cakes and wraps. The lunches included numerous hot options, with no stinginess on the meat as is usually the case. The cheese platter was particularly memorable.

The view from my hotel window included an old red brick house among taller modern buildings. The house was now a posh French restaurant on top called "Number 5" and an earthy Italian restaurant below called "Da Vinci's". Python and I had an excellent two course Italian meal at Da Vinci's to celebrate his talk.

Feasts come in all shapes and sizes. I was well behaved on the first two mornings and had my own cereal breakfast, but on the last morning I went for the traditional hotel cooked breakfast of eggs and sausages.

The breakfast was first class. It was delivered precisely (to the second) at my nominated time of 7.15am and the poached eggs were still runny. A surprise was the toaster so that I could toast my own bread in order to achieve maximum freshness of toast. I have never encountered this before. The pot of strong freshly brewed coffee for one was enormous and I drank it all. I haven't slept since.

VICTORIES

There was a victory, and it was mine. Throughout the conference the Python and I continued our two player game of EDEE. How cool was this and how different to all the boring legal conferences I have been to over the years. Every couple of hours we would exchange turns, and even the uber geek talks with topics like "Clustering Web Apps with MariaDB & Galera" and "MySQL Roadmap, more flexibility with NoSQL API" could not hold the Python as he rushed to a quiet corner to do his move.

It was a particularly close and exciting game, and I had been rewarded with a radical opening strategy which the Python still refuses to concede is better than his opening strategy. In any event, after a particularly crushing counter move by me, the Python officially resigned in a game that he has dominated for years. It was a very satisfying victory indeed.

No PRESTAGS was played, although MI 22 and his friends did travel to New Zealand and they were remarkably well behaved.

SPOILS

The true spoils of the conference are knowledge. I learnt a lot, especially about cyber security and privacy which have always interested me. I really enjoyed a panel discussion on the second morning "Government surveillance of online communications" and the keynote address on the third day by Vikram Kumar, the CEO of Mega, which is a NZ based private cloud platform. There are so many threats to our privacy and even the geeks are struggling to hold back the ever increasing online Orwellian nightmare.

I learnt about Tor, which has a suite of applications to assist online privacy. I learnt about BeagleBone which is a credit card sized linux computer: absolutely brilliant and I want one. I don't need one but I just want one. I learnt that I cannot challenge the geeks when it comes to 'most nerdy' t-shirts or 'most nerdy' laptop stickers. I collected a lot of stickers at OSDC. But I still think my own sticker design of the linux penguin with the V for Vendetta mask was the most original at the conference.

HOME

No matter where you go or whatever you do it is always marvellous to get home. As the return flight descended over Sydney I was able to take a photograph through the window with a rather crappy camera. I am quite proud of this photograph. It captures the CBD and harbour bridge, and the bushfire haze that was still sitting over the city. Welcome back to Sydney.

All You Get is Complaints

It may have been a mistake to let the other units know I'm going to New Zealand. All I'm getting now is complaints. They should have shown some initiative like me with my long range exploration, insteading of sleeping in their counter boxes. Where were they when I advanced deep into the server room?

Rest assured Paul and PythonMagus that I will deal with these complaints, and hopefully you will not be bothered.

I received a complaint from Swordsmen SD 9. I have responded "Perhaps next time".

I received a complaint from Professional Spearmen PS 5. I have responded "If I could bring any unit it would be yours, unfortunately the logistics and long term bookings prevent a change of plans at short notice".

I received a complaint from Bowmen BW 4. I have responded "If you're going to fight over your bows you can stay at home until your learn some discipline".

I received a complaint from Militia Spearmen MS 7. I have responded "Do I really need to tell you what the chance is of a militia infantry unit travelling with a militia spearmen unit? You are pathetic. You look more scared than scary".

I received a complaint from Professional Pikemen PP 2. I have responded "I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have never understood where the professional comes from. Are you defending against sparrows?"

I received a complaint from Viking Fleet VF 3. I have responded "A whole fleet unit is a tad excessive. And I'm not sure that the boat will comply with the baggage requirements".

I received a complaint from Elephants EL 2. I have responded "You will be missed, however quarantine rules prevent your travel".

I received a complaint from Barbarian Infantry BI 19. I have responded "You are correct, I do owe you a favour. Let me see what I can do, especially if it is only the seven of you. I will need to speak to Mr Python".

And I even received a complaint from Militia Infantry MI 1. I have responded "No".

(I'm sorry about Eric's lack of proper attire. It tarnishes the good name of militia infantry everywhere. I shall write to him separately. And yes, Derek's helmet is a joke).

Failed Disguises

Both PythonMagus and Thygocanberra have failed to hide their identities with these disguises:

You are a disgrace to Legion and to Viking.

Mark This Day

Mark this day as a big day for PRESTAGS.

First, PythonMagus has taken Moderni Agone (code for computer PRESTAGS) to the beta testing stage. An amazing achievement in such a short period of time. I look forward to driving him crazy as I reveal all the bugs. To celebrate I have created the Moderni Agone category and gone back and added this to relevant posts.

Second, the first wave of PRESTAGS.com rewards have arrived. Yes, PRESTAGS mugs and PRESTAGS playing cards.

I will send these to the Python and Thygomoonshine as soon as I can. Suggestions for the second wave of PRESTAGS rewards are most welcome.

PRESTAGS of the Rings

In 1977, SPI published "War of the Ring", a board wargame based upon JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". The game included a strategic adventure and wargame, and two related games, "Sauron" and "Gondor".

Being both an avid wargamer and a complete Tolkien fan, I purchased "War of the Ring". I still have this game, and indeed it resides it my boxes of 'the best of the best' along with (needless to say) PRESTAGS.

For fans of PRESTAGS, published two years earlier in 1975, there was a wonderful treat with "War of the Ring" (WOTR). The treat was: many of the awesome PRESTAGS counter pictures were used in the counters for WOTR. I have studied both of these epic games and I have identified ten (10) units where the same counter picture was used.

Number 1. The PRESTAGS axemen and (surprise, surprise) the WOTR Dwarves.

Number 2. The PRESTAGS archers and (again, no surprise) the WOTR Elves.

Number 3. The PRESTAGS heavy cavalry and the WOTR heavy cavalry of Rohan and Gondor.

Number 4. The PRESTAGS swordsmen and the WOTR swordsmen of Gondor.

Number 5. The PRESTAGS Improved bowmen and the WOTR Mordor Orcs bowmen.

Number 6. The PRESTAGS militia spearmen and the WOTR spearmen of Elves and Gondor.

Number 7. The PRESTAGS oriental horse archers and the WOTR Rohan horse archers.

Number 8. The PRESTAGS barbarian infantry and the WOTR Orcs (entirely appropriate).

Number 9. The PRESTAGS elephants and the WOTR Haradrim Mumakil elephants. The hobbits called these oliphaunts.

Number 10. The PRESTAGS ballista and the WOTR catapults.

There are of course many unit counters that are unique to each of PRESTAGS and WOTR, with ten examples in the following collage. However, for me there will always be a special bond between these two games, both from the great SPI at the high water mark of their game publications in the mid to late 1970s. Back when I was in high school. And mad about wargames. And mad about Tolkien. And still am.

Stone me for heresy but.....
I think there is an error in the Prestags combat results table. If so, Viking (thanks again Paul), Legion and Spartan have it. I suggest that the roll of 3 on the 5:1 column (against non-disrupted troops) should be ½E.

Any votes for how the combat table in Sgatserp should work?

Welcome Peter - The Viking has Landed

Absolutely Fantastic - Peter has posted!

And I love duck eggs as well!

PS. I love the new categories.

What on Earth is PRESTAGS? (2) Credit Where Credit is Due

Before any further posts are published, we should give credit where credit is due. 

The five PRESTAGS games were designed by John Young, and published by SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc) in 1975.

Extremely well done John and all the very best wherever you may be (or, as we say in Australia, you little ripper!)

What on Earth is PRESTAGS? (1) ..."What's in a name?"

You mean you don't know?!

The answer is of such monumental importance and interest that it will require many, many posts to deal with properly.

Let's just start by explaining the name. PRESTAGS = Pre-Seventeenth Century Tactical Game System. PRESTAGS is in fact five games, and each game covers numerous historical battles.

The battles covered are:

CHARIOT  Tactical Warfare in the Biblical Age, 3000-500BC

The Delta (1675 BC), Babylon (1595 BC), Megiddo (1469 BC), Kadesh (1294 BC), Sinai (c. 1225 BC), Qarqar (854 BC), Tabal (706 BC), Charchemish (608 BC), Thymbra (546 BC), Bubastis (c. 3000), Armageddon (609 BC), Lake Regillus (c. 496 BC), The Aequi (458 BC).

SPARTAN  Tactical Warfare in the Hellenistic Age, 500-100BC

Marathon (490 BC), Plataea (479 BC), Corinth (394 BC), Mantinea (362 BC), Chaeronea (338 BC), Granicus (334 BC), Issus (333 BC), Arbela (331 BC), Ipsus (301 BC), Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (278 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cannae (216 BC), Zama (202 BC), Cynoscephelae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), Pydna (168 BC).

LEGION  Tactical Warfare in the ROMAN Age, 100BC-700AD

Numidia (106 BC), Vercellae (101 BC), Apulia (71 BC), Cabira (72 BC), The Sambre (57 BC), Carrhae (53 BC), Pharsalus (48 BC), Second Phillippi (42 BC), Teutoburgerwald (9 AD), Minden (16 AD), Boudiccan Revolt (61 AD), Lugdunum (197 AD), Euphrates (261 AD), Placentia (271 AD), Ctesiphon (363 AD), Adrianople (378 AD), Chalons (451 AD), Daras (530 AD), Busta Gallorum (552 AD), Casilinum (554 AD).

VIKING  Tactical Warfare in the Dark Ages, 700-1300AD

Qadisiya (637 AD), Tours (732 AD), Constantinople (860 AD), Paris (885 AD), Lourain (891 AD), Hamburg (988 AD), Balthusta (1014 AD), Clontarf (1014 AD), Cannae II (1017 AD), Civitate (1053 AD), Cerami (1063 AD), Stamford Bridge (1066 AD), Hastings (1066 AD), Manzikert (1071 AD), Durazzo (1082 AD), Dorylaeum (1097 AD), Hattin (1187 AD), Liegnitz (1241 AD), El Mansura (1250 AD).

YEOMAN  Tactical Warfare in the Renaissance Age, 1250-1550AD

Legnano (29 May 1176 AD), Benevento (26 February 1266 AD), Falkirk (22 July 1298 AD), Courtrai (11 July 1302 AD), Bannockburn (24 June 1314 AD), Crecy (26 August 1346 AD), Agincourt (25 October 1415 AD), Arbedo (30 June 1422 AD), Barnet (1471 AD), Hericourt (1474 AD), Fornovo (1495 AD), Garigliano (29 December 1503 AD), Ravenna IV (11 April 1512 AD), Novara (1513 AD), Biococca (1522 AD), Ceresole (1522 AD), Pavia (21 February 1525 AD).

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

(Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene II)

As far as wargames go, it does not get any sweeter than PRESTAGS!